Final Four: Loyola coaches pick up what they can on Michigan at open practice

SAN ANTONIO — Loyola-Chicago coach Porter Moser tried to keep a low profile while watching part of Michigan’s practice Friday at the Final Four.

Loyola Ramblers head coach Porter Moser at the Final Four.

Loyola will play Michigan on Saturday in the first seminal game, followed by Kansas vs. Villanova.

Practices on Thursday were open to the public, and thousands of spectators watched in full view. Moser, by contrast, stood near the top of a staircase and almost out of view before a member of the Alamodome staff approached him.

The woman said Moser could not stay on the staircase unless he had approval but that he was welcome to watch from the area where three Loyola-Chicago’s assistants were watching, across the court from thousands of spectators.

But before he did, he’d yelled out to one of his assistant coaches, “Watch The Villanova!’’

Drew Valentine, a Loyola assistant coach, explained The Villanova — a practice maneuver in which players drive in the lane and pivot — is a move used not only at Villanova but by some Michigan players as well. But he minimized how much the assistants could learn about their upcoming opponent.

“You don’t pick up much,’’ Valentine told USA TODAY Sports. “You just get an idea of what they look like, how they move and what their shots look like.”

Drew also said that Michigan’s assistant coaches were watching Loyola’s practice earlier in the day but that he did not see Michigan head coach John Beilein.

David Worlock, Director of Media Coordination and Statistics for the NCAA, said he did not know how common it was for coaches to watch opposing teams’ open practices at the Final Four. But he said media commitments preclude that opportunity.